Pages

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Lately, I've been revisiting some old favorite recipes in an effort to have make them healthier. If I'm going to make a lifestyle change in the way I eat, I'm going to have to be able to eat the foods I love. If I'm denied delicious food, I will never be able to eat healthy. I guess I'm out to prove to myself that healthy can be delicious. Healthy doesn't mean salad everyday... and it's a good thing, because salads just don't cut it for me.
I've revamped a popular recipe on this blog: Mongolian Chicken. When I originally posted this recipe, it was a copy-cat of PF Chang's classic. If you look at the recipe, you'll find a lot of oil and sugar. I knew this could still be delicious, without all that junk.
Well, Jonathon said he liked the new version better than the old. It's definitely not as sweet, but it was probably overly sweet in the first place. The drop in the amount of oil was unnoticeable. Basically, reducing the oil takes the chicken from a fried dish to a sauteed dish...which is so much healthier! I also added broccoli in with the chicken so it would get coated in the sauce and a side of brown rice. Of course, you could serve broccoli on the side instead of mixing it in. I think snow peas would be a nice change from the broccoli too. I'm still convincing my husband that broccoli is not the only vegetable worth eating, so snow peas might make an appearance soon.
Do you see the other side? The one in the muffin cup? It's Thomcord grapes. I got them at Trader Joe's, and they are amazing, They taste and look like blueberries! If you ever see them, you should try them.

Heat oil to medium-high. Add ginger and garlic and saute for a few seconds. Add soy sauce and sugar and stir until dissolved. Let boil and simmer for a couple of minutes. Pour into a small bowl and set aside.

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.

Heat 1Tbl oil in the same pan you used before. Add chicken pieces and brown. Coat with reserved sauce and cook until thickened. You may need to add a little flour or cornstarch to help it along.

Add broccoli (or other vegetable) at this point. I added broccoli that had already been steamed.

Served with brown rice (and vegetable on side if not adding in)

So, are you curious about the calorie differences between the two version of this recipe? I couldn't believe it!